Monica Enand, the Portland founder and CEO of Zapproved—an e-document service that helps companies sort through big data—accepted the Sam Blackman Award for Civic Engagement at an inaugural awards ceremony at TechfestNW this afternoon.

"I don't think I can express how deeply honored I am to receive this award," Enand said.

"Sam was a passionate guy," she added, "he was passionate about tech, social justice, the environment, kids and definitely about Portland. His grace and strength is something we can all take a lesson from."

To other community leaders, Enand also had a message: "Take Sam's cues and show that our generation wants to be engaged and have a positive and permanent role in making Portland a great place for every member of the community to live."

TechFestNW, sponsored by WW, continues this week at Portland State University.